


Tea

by primalrageanddumbassery



Category: Darkwing Duck (Cartoon 1991), DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Actually there's some cussing, Drakepad fluff, Gay Panic, Good Parent Drake Mallard, Gosalyn is best daughter, Gosalyn is the best wingman, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'll stop tagging now, Insomnia, Late Night Conversations, M/M, One Shot, Parent Launchpad McQuack, Wow man, actually both of them, both of them have those qualities, catch me out here bashing myself in the tags, corona has me out here hella bored, drake and LP share one (1) braincell, drake and launchpad are oblivious dumbasses and I will write them as such, drake can't sleep, drake cries a lot, drake is in denial, drakepad, exclusively fluff, fair warning there's some bad words, gosalyn is a sass bomb, i swear i write good sometimes, i'm listening to a jigjam song while writing these tags, if you read all of these tags i love you, if you think drake knows what's up then you are a damn fool, it was not my intent to write a shitty fic, launchpad is lowkey sassy, launchpad is such a sweetheart, lots of hugging, lp cares so much about his dumb boyfriend, momentum by jigjam is so good??? listen to jigjam guys, no braincells were used in the making of this fic, nothing worse than damn, oh shit smooth hound smith just came on, ok now im done with tags, please be my friend, pure of heart dumb of ass is launchpad's only characteristic, wait no one more, wait yall don't know who jigjam is???, writing while im waiting for corona to fuck off, you sure are behind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:46:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23883991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/primalrageanddumbassery/pseuds/primalrageanddumbassery
Summary: One sleepless night, two cups of tea, and three attempts at trying to get Drake to open up about the reason his night is so void of sleep.Gosalyn is tired of her dad and the guy helping her dad raise her being oblivious to each other's romantic feelings so when she sees an opportunity, she takes it.Or,That One Time Launchpad Brought Drake Breakfast After Drake Had A Very Long Night
Relationships: Dewey Duck/Gosalyn Mallard, Drake Mallard & Gosalyn Mallard, Drake Mallard/Launchpad McQuack
Comments: 13
Kudos: 91





	Tea

**Author's Note:**

> This Is Probably The Least Sensical Fic I Have Ever Written. Please Excuse Me, I Wrote This At, Like, 10:30 (and normally I go to sleep at 9 because am babey)  
> Edit: I updated this but there's nothing new added to the story, I just reread the fic and found so damn many typos so yeet

Drake rolled over in bed for about the millionth time that night. He just wanted sleep. He hadn’t had an extra cup of coffee that day. He hadn’t taken a midday nap. He hadn’t skipped patrol. If anything, he should be exhausted. He was past the point of wondering why he wasn’t asleep and was, at this point, just trying to push out any thoughts in hopes of calming down enough to catch some shut eye. As Drake can tell you, however, avoicing thoughts just makes them more stubbornly rooted. He angrily glanced over his pillow at the glowing green numbers of his alarm clock. 1:13. It was the next freaking day! It was morning! Drake had gotten back from patrol around 11, and that was late. He still had to get Gosalyn ready for school every morning, so he always tried for at least a few good hours of sleep before the alarm went off at 6. So much for that tonight. Exhausted, confused, and angry, Drake sat up at last. His brain was stuck on something. If he let it run its course, maybe he could settle down and get that sleep he was so desperate for. Well then, what was it? He thought, propping his head up on his knee. Real quiet now, huh? My own brain won’t talk to me! I bet Launchpad doesn’t have to deal with this kind of mutiny. He frowned. Launchpad? Why am I thinking about Launchpad? He could feel the heat rising in his cheeks at the thought of his partner. Oh. Oh, that’s why. He searched his memories from earlier, trying to recall what exactly it was that kept him up that night. It was just as he suspected- every time his mind would run away with a thought, it would always be about his partner. He buried his face in his pillow with the realization, groaning. No. No, I do not have a- ugh!  
“I do not,” he said into his pillow through gritted teeth, “have a crush on Launchpad McQuack!” There was no answer, obviously. But the silence said it all for him- “Of course you to, you silly, silly man.” He threw his covers off angrily (although who or what his chagrin was geared towards he couldn’t say) and slid off of his mattress. I still have some chamomile, right? He wondered. Tea always seemed to do the trick for him when it came to sleep. To be honest, he was quite appalled he hadn’t thought of it sooner. Head starting to ache, he stumbled into the kitchen and flipped the light on. He took a gray mug from the cabinet, (one of the only non-purple dishwares he had, part of a set his mother had given him as a moving out present) and filled it with water.  
“Thought I heard somethin’,” a small voice noted. Drake turned around to see his daughter standing at the doorway, her green eyes still sleep-glazed.  
“Sorry, honey, did I wake you?” he asked as he fumbled through another cabinet for the box of tea bags. She shrugged.  
“Yeah, but it’s fine. What’s wrong, dad?” He raised an inquisitive eyebrow. She raised on of her own. “Tea? You can’t sleep, huh?” He pursed his beak.  
“And if I can’t? You should go back to bed, Gos. School tomorrow, remember?” She instead took a seat at the peninsula.  
“Make another cup?” she asked. Drake sighed, grabbing a second gray mug. She grinned. “You’re so good to me. Okay, so what’s wrong, dad?” Drake placed the two cups in the microwave, not answering. Gosalyn frowned. “Uh, dad? You hear me?”  
“I heard you,” he said quietly.  
“So?” He crossed his arms, staring into the microwave intently. “Seriously?”  
“Maybe I don’t want to tell you, Gosalyn!” he snapped. She raised her eyebrows in surprise.  
“Wow, okay. Never mind, then.” Drake glanced back at her.  
“I- sorry, that was rude. I’m just-”  
“Tired? Yeah, I can tell,” she remarked. The rotating plate of the microwave spun the two cups of water in slow circles. Drake stood there and watched.  
“Ya know, my teacher said you shouldn’t be so close to the microwave while it’s running,” she informed him.  
“And why is that?” he asked in a monotone voice, not bothering to look away.  
“Microwaves will fry your brain,” she said matter-of-factly. He frowned.  
“Not if you don’t put your head in them.”  
“No, dad!” she whined. “Microwave waves! The waves fry your brain!” He chuckled.  
“I get exposed to all manners of crazy things nightly. If that doesn’t kill me, I don’t think microwaves will.” She shrugged.  
“Famous last words.” He rolled his eyes as the microwave beeped. Putting on oven mitts so his fingers wouldn’t get burnt on the hot handles, he took the mugs out and put them on the counter.  
“There we are,” he said, dropping a tea bag in each. “And now we wait.” Gosalyn took a comic that she’d started the day before off of the counter and pretended to read. Drake drummed his fingers absently on the table. Gosalyn stole a quick glance over her comic.  
“Maybe talking will help?” she suggested in a quiet voice.  
“Okay, why are you so hung up about why I can’t sleep?” he asked, exasperated. Gosalyn put her comic down.  
“Dad, something’s really bothering you. You aren’t going to work it out on your own- if anything, you’re going to ignore it until it explodes. Let’s not get there, okay?” His jaw hung ajar. “Oh, come on, you know I’m right,” she said. He thought about it. Damn, she might be right.  
“You won’t say anything to anyone?” he asked in a low voice. “Not your friends, not my friends? Not… not even Launchpad?” Gosalyn nodded suspiciously.  
“That was oddly specific, but y-” She froze, seeming to be having a thought. “Oh my gosh!” Her eyes grew. Drake frowned.  
“You know, normally the ‘being surprised’ isn’t until after the secret has been told,” he pointed out. Gosalyn sat up on her knees, leaning over the peninsula to look her dad straight in the eyes.  
“Dad,” she said very seriously.  
“Um, Gosalyn?” he answered, confused.  
“You have a crush on Launchpad, yeah?”  
“How- you- I- what?” he spluttered. She grinned.  
“I knew it!”  
“How?” he repeated incredulously. She gave him a smug smile.  
“Dad, seriously? It’s been a long, long time coming. Wait, hold on-” She searched his bewildered face. “You didn’t even know you had a crush on him?” Drake shrugged.  
“I mean…?” Gosalyn cackled.  
“This is richer than I thought!” Drake blushed profusely.  
“You sure are making this real easy on your poor father,” he muttered. Gosalyn stopped.  
“Oh, sorry!” she apologized quickly. He glanced at her.  
“So, uh,” he started quietly. “Are… are you okay with that? Me liking Launchpad?” She frowned.  
“Why wouldn’t I be? He makes you really happy.” Drake smiled softly.  
“I mean, yeah. Yeah, he does.” Gosalyn grinned.  
“Hey, I bet the tea’s cooled off,” she guessed. Drake felt his mug.  
“Eh, still a little warm, but drinkable.” He stood up and went to retrieve the honey from the cabinet.  
“Y’know, dad,” Gosalyn said in an offhand voice, “If you were to, say, ask him out? He’d totally say yes.” Drake scoffed, taking the tea bag out and squeezing a heap of honey into his mug.  
“Yeah, right.” Gosalyn rolled her eyes.  
“You two are the most oblivious people on the planet, I swear. Dad, you should do it! He is just as doe-eyed around you as you are around him and everybody knows it.” She took the honey bottle that he’d sat down and started to sweeten her own beverage. “Well, everyone except the two of you.” Drake sat down, light headed.  
“You… think?” She nodded enthusiastically, her frizzy red hair bouncing like millions of springs. Drake took a deep sip of his tea. “Huh” was all he said. Gosalyn sighed exasperatedly. They finished their tea in silence, then Drake put his daughter to bed for the second time that night. As he was starting to drift off (finally), Drake wondered if anything Gos had said was true. And then, at 2:58, he fell asleep.

Launchpad’s day was exceptionally normal. He drove Scrooge to his meeting just like every Tuesday, and even avoided any crash-related lawsuits this morning. Once Scrooge was safely dropped off, he went across town to grab something from Hamburger Hippo and, remembering how Drake was guilty of often skipping a meal or two, went ahead and ordered a little something for Drake as well. Hamburgers in possession and humming the theme song of a certain purple-clad crusader, Launchpad headed into the city of St. Canard. Drake’s apartment was in a tall complex on the edge of town closest to Duckburg, which was very convenient for these quick visits in between chauffeuring. LP had mixed emotions about Drake and Gosalyn’s living quarters. On the one hand, Launchpad was grateful for the general lack of care this building had seen, meaning that any evidence of his many crashes blended in with other cracks on the bricks. On the other, his best friend and said friend’s daughter lived in this building that was already so shoddy without the damage he did to it regularly. To be honest, it made him nervous as hell for their safety, but Drake had assured him time and again that the structural integrity was far stronger than it looked. He took the stairs to the 5th floor, bags of burgers in hand. Visits to Drake’s always excited them, even though they were fairly regular at this point. There was just something about Drake’s grin the second Launchpad walked in that filled him with indescribable amounts of joy.  
LP knocked on the door and waited. And waited. He tried again. And waited.  
“Drake?” he called, starting to feel nervous. It’s probably nothing, he thought. He just didn’t hear me for some reason.  
“Drake!” he called louder. Panic truly setting in, Launchpad took out his wallet and fished through it for a spare key Drake had given him. He didn’t like to use it without knocking first, but what if something had happened? What if Drake was hurt or something? Rampant worries about villains they had faced, Drake’s deadly peanut allergy, and the rickety building swam through his mind. He flung the door open, eyes searching the room.  
“Drake!”  
“Buh?” A sleepy voice drifted from the couch to his ears. Launchpad sighed, shutting the door gently.  
“Hey, Drake,” Launchpad said sheepishly. Drake blinked at him, clearly still groggy.  
“Oh, hi LP,” he yawned. “Something wrong?” Launchpad shook his head, trying to get his heart rate back down in the armchair.  
“N-no. No, I just- you didn’t respond and I freaked a bit. Sorry for waking you up over nothing, DW.” Drake shrugged it off.  
“No biggie. Probably time for me to get up and about anyways.” He gave Launchpad a quick, awkward pat on the shoulder as he passed the chair. LP smiled, taking a deep breath.  
“Oh yeah, I brought you some breakfast.” He held up the bag of burgers. Drake’s face broke into a grin.  
“Huh, I totally forgot breakfast. Thanks, LP,” he said with a yawn. The pilot smirked.  
“Figured you did.” He opened the bag and tossed Drake a burger which the actor almost didn’t catch, then once in his grasp, he almost dropped.  
“Launchpad, dearest friend of mine, what on earth have I ever done that’s made you falsely believe that my hand-eye coordination was even close to decent?” Launchpad laughed jovially, unwrapping his hamburger and taking a bite.  
“There’s fries too,” LP added, grabbing one of the little containers.  
“Can’t imagine a hamburger without ‘em,” Drake remarked. “Now do not throw them!” he pleaded. Launchpad gently handed Drake the fries.  
“Was that better?” Drake nodded.  
“Much.” They ate their breakfast in happy silence for a few minutes, until Launchpad cleared his throat.  
“You seem extra tired this morning, DW,” Launchpad noted. Drake yawned, further proving his point  
“Jeez, yeah. I couldn’t fall asleep last night. It had to be, shoot, 2 or 3 when I actually passed out. And when the alarm went off this morning? Let’s just say I need a new bedside clock.” Launchpad smiled sympathetically.  
“How did Gos get to school then?” Drake shrugged.  
“I drove her, of course.” Launchpad huffed.  
“Drake, why didn’t you call me? You know I woulda taken Gos to school myself.” Drake shook his head.  
“No, LP, I couldn’t. You have work!” Launchpad brushed it off.  
“Nah, I don’t actually have to report until 9. Next time you call me, okay?” The softness and overall caring in Launchpad’s voice melted Drake’s heart. What did he ever do to deserve this beautiful man in his life? Drake swallowed his bite of burger happily.  
“Man, what would I do without you, LP?” Launchpad smiled, popping a couple of fries in his mouth.  
“You give me way too much credit, Drake.”  
“And you don’t give yourself enough,” Drake countered. “Oh man, I forgot to ask if you wanted anything to drink!” he realized, standing up immediately.  
“Gee, Drake, that’s alright. I don’t need anything.”  
“You sure?” Drake asked, frowning. “Those fries are pretty salty.” Launchpad seemed to reconsider, his eye catching on something on the counter.  
“Oh, is that tea?” he asked. Drake’s blood went ice cold.  
“Uh, y-yeah, he stammered. “Chamomile.” Launchpad smiled, oblivious to his partner’s freaking-out.  
“I like tea,” he mused. Drake nodded, plastering a smile on his face.  
“Coming right up.” Grabbing a mug from the cabinet above, Drake tried to slow his heavily thrumming heart. I’m totally overthinking this. Launchpad just likes tea. It was out. It doesn’t matter why I couldn’t sleep last night. I just left the tea out on accident, he was bound to see it. I don’t need to think about what kept me up last night. I never have to think about that. What we have going on is good, I’m good with it. I’m overthinking this so much, I’m-  
Just then, Drake noticed the mug in his hand.  
It was gray.  
He gasped before he could stop himself.  
“You okay there, DW?” He looked over at Launchpad in the recliner, trying to keep his expression neutral.  
“Huh? Yeah, sure, why? Everything’s peachy.” Launchpad frowned, pushing himself up from the chair.  
“You’re shaking. Drake, are you alright?” Drake set the mug down before he could drop it.  
“I’m just… having a moment right now. It’s fine.” His eyesight was starting to blur, but he could tell that Launchpad was coming towards him.  
“Drake,” Launchpad said in a calm voice. “Is it alright if I hug you?” Drake nodded wordlessly, knowing that if he spoke his voice would crack immediately. Big, gentle arms wrapped around him. He leaned into the hug, melting into Launchpad’s torso as he let himself cry.  
“Whoa, Drake? If you didn’t want to make me tea you could’ve just said so.” That made Drake laugh.  
“N-no, it wasn’t the te-tea,” he hiccuped. “It’s the thing that made me not sleep la-last night.” Launchpad rubbed circles into his back gently.  
“You wanna talk about it?” Drake looked up at Launchpad, eyes shining.  
“It’s a l-lot,” he warned in a weak attempt to stifle Launchpad’s curiosity. “You might not like it.” He wasn’t sure if he was ready for this, but it wasn’t like he had dignity to protect after this little scene.  
“Let’s sit down,” Launchpad suggested. “I’ll listen to whatever you want to say.” Drake laughed nervously.  
“Y-yeah. Sure.” Launchpad pulled one of the bar stools out from under the peninsula while Drake did the same.  
“So, um, I couldn’t sleep last night. I mean, I already said that. Jeez, this is difficult, Drake babbled. Launchpad placed a large hand on Drake’s shoulder.  
“Hey, it’s just me, Drake. You know you can tell me anything.”  
“I can’t, though!” Drake exploded. “If I could, I would’ve told you already, but I can’t ‘cause I don’t know what you’ll think or say and I can’t deal with it if things go bad!” Launchpad stared at him, mouth, agape. Drake realized what he said too late. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to blow up at you like that!”  
“No, it’s- it’s okay,” Launchpad said softly. His face was riddled with concern.  
What was it Gos had said about Launchpad being doe-eyed around him? Was this what she meant?  
“Launchpad, I have-” was he seriously about to say ‘a crush on you’? Geez way to make himself like a starry-eyed schoolboy. “That is, I, uh-” He noticed that he was obsessively running his hands through his hair. He stopped himself, taking a deep breath. “Launchpad, I like you!” he blurted. Launchpad frowned.  
“Well, we’re best friends, I would hope you like me.” Gosalyn really was right about them being oblivious to boot, wasn’t she?  
“Nonono, Launchpad, I- I like you like you. Like, romantically? I… man, am I bad at this or what?” Drake laughed nervously. It took Launchpad a second for the sentiment to register, but when it did he was absolutely gobsmacked.  
“You… oh my gosh, Drake, you-!” For once in his entire life, Launchpad McQuack was at a loss for words.  
“Oh man, I shouldn’t have said anything,” Drake fretted, not meeting his gaze.  
“No, I’m glad you did,” Launchpad said after a second. He giggled. Oh damn, now he’s laughing at me! “Drake, look at me,” he said, noticing the profuse blush coloring Drake’s cheeks. “Please?” Reluctantly, the smaller bird turned his head to look Launchpad in the eyes. “Drake, I didn’t want to say anything before ‘cause I wasn’t sure you liked me like that, but I… I like you too.” Now it was Drake’s turn to be shocked.  
“You mean-?” Launchpad nodded, his grin stretching wide across his face. In one swift movement, Launchpad swept Drake in his big arms again and hugged him. Drake laughed, feeling all of the pent up stress in his body start to evaporate as he held on tight to the giant of a man.

Gosalyn Mallard was well aware that she was not supposed to have her phone out at school, but she would argue that it’s the teacher’s fault for #1 Not paying enough attention to the students and #2 Being so damn boring. So here she was playing Sweets Smash in her algebra class when she got a sudden alert for a text. It was her dad.  
[You were right about LP.]  
She squeaked out loud.  
“Miss Mallard, did you suddenly realize your passion for parabolas?” her teacher inquired. “Or do we have a different distraction to blame?” She looked up, her face red.  
“The first one, of course,” she answered innocently.  
“Mmm. So you won’t mind handing over your cellular device until the end of the hour then?” Gosalyn cursed under her breath.  
“Of course not.” But as she handed over her phone, she couldn’t help but smile.  
Dewey owed her 20 bucks.

**Author's Note:**

> um yeah haha if you read to the end you were either entranced by how much of a trainwreck this is or thought it was a decent fic. If it was the former, I'm sorry. If it was the latter, please consider leaving Kudos or a Comment. 1 comment or Kudos=1 hug for a touch starved gremlin who hasn't seen her grandparents or any of her friends in a long ass time cause of cOrOnA  
> Anyways, thanks for reading! Much love!


End file.
